President Dudley Thompson
Call to Order – President Dudley Thompson
President Dudley Thompson called to order the 5,350th Civic Thursday meeting of the Rotary Club of Oakland. He welcomed everyone to the Zoom only meeting.
Thought for the Day – Trisha Connors
Trisha Connors shared the thought of the day about being happy with the things you already have. The saying is from Andrew Irvine, an author on stoicism.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Past President and Past District Governor Ed Jellen introduced two visiting Rotarians, Past District Governor and Los Gatos Morning Club member Tim Lundell, and Dianne Dorn, Past President of San Leandro Club and current Assistant District Governor for Area 4A. Also joining via Zoom was Connie Baecheler, guest of Marilyn Harryman.
PAL Camp Service Day
PAL Campsite Service Day
Last Saturday, Rotarians and friends spent the morning at the Oakland Police Activities League (PAL) campsite in Roberts Regional Recreation Area pulling weeds, fixing landscaping and cleaning restrooms. The service day was led by Daniel Cheng and the Community Service Committee. Thanks to former TV Anchor Wendy Tokuda for organizing!
Leadership Academy
The Rotary Leadership Academy is open for applications until August 13th. Past District Governor and District Trainer Tim Lundell shared specifics of the leadership academy. It is an advanced year-long Rotary training for students who want to learn about Rotary leadership. According to Past District Governor Ed Jellen, the academy used to be open only to former Club Presidents. Now it is open to all. The training is self-directed with one course per month online. In addition to Ed, Kristine Watson, Jesse Bowdle and Dudley Thompson shared their wonderful experiences from going through the training. Register on the Rotary District 5170 website home page.
Rotary Magazine Photoshoot
Oakland #3 featured in Rotary Magazine
Oakland Rotary was one of the five original Rotary Clubs featured with a montage of photos on the front cover of the August, 2021 Rotary Magazine and an article about how Rotarians are finding fresh ways to connect. It reported on the five clubs’ collaborative project to provide sanitation kits locally to homeless people. Representing the club on short notice at the photo shoot were President Dudley Thompson, President Elect Mary Geong and Audio Visual Co-Chair Sandeepa Nayak. A few weeks ago, the club held a caption contest for the photos of our members.
Return of Lunches at Club Meetings
President Dudley announced that lunches will be available starting with the August 12th meeting. They will need to be pre-ordered. Look for the Rotary email blast for ordering instructions. The Ballroom will open at 11:30 am for fellowship, hors d’oeuvres and drinks.
High Adventure - Mark Rosen
High Adventure Committee Co-Chair Mark Rosen posed the trivia question asking what/who is Stomper? Stomper is the A’s mascot and will be at the Rotary A’s game on Friday August 27th versus the New York Yankees. Only 20 tickets are still available. There will be an informal tailgate as well as a Rotary “shout out” on the jumbotron at the game. Order tickets on the Club Website in the Event Calendar.
Cocktails with the President
Cocktails with the President
President Elect Mary Geong invited us to attend Cocktails with the President on August 19th, 5:30 pm at Calavera Restaurant.
Stephen Menendian
Speaker for the Day – Stephen Menendian
Allison Bliss introduced our speaker of the day, Stephen Menendian. Stephen is a professor at UC Berkeley who leads the Inclusiveness Index and is an expert in structural racism, educational equity and inter-group inequality.
He mentioned how Oakland Rotary’s mission statement is a beautiful statement on bringing people together in a positive way. Stephen began his talk about racism in the Bay Area and its racial patterns. African Americans in the Bay Area grew rapidly after WWII and peaked between 1980 and 1990. Asian Americans have grown as a percentage of Bay Area’s population more recently and currently make up 23.6% as of the 2010 census.
Racial segregation in the Bay Area is harmful as segregated neighborhoods have different health outcomes, poverty, and crime. Where you live determines the resources that shape your life. For more information, please visit https://belonging.berkeley.edu/segregationinthebay.
Bellringers
Dudley Thompson rang the bell for his picture in the Rotary Magazine and his 3-inch vertical jump. Mary Geong and Sandeepa Nayak also rang the bell..
Adjournment
President Dudley thanked all of the members who took part in the day’s meeting. He reminded us that we serve to help others as he rang the bell at 1:28 pm and adjourned the meeting.
Birthday Greetings
Happy Birthday! Celebrating between August 11 – 17 are:
12 – John Weaver
13 – John Colon
13 – Harold Lowe
13 – Tom Thatcher
14 – C J Hirschfield
15 – Brad Levesque
16 – Ken Benson
16 – Lewis Griggs
17 – Joycie Mack
Membership Anniversaries in August
Thank you for your years of service to the Rotary Club of Oakland and the community!
- Lorna Padia Markus – 25 years
- Allison Lindquist – 15 years
- Bob Barth – 13 years
- Peter Sherris – 12 years
- Gary Flaxman – 10 years
- Robert Rayburn – 8 years
- Yong Bai – 7 years
- Cynthia Harris – 5 years
- Mona Hall – 4 years
- Stacey Manley – 4 years
- Lesley Weaver – 3 years
- Suzi Alvarez – 2 years
- Kymberly Miller – 2 years
- Derreck Johnson – 1 year
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